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The Roots of Nazi Psychology: Hitler's Utopian Barbarism

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Jay Y. Gonen, retired professor of psychology, has written the book The Roots of Nazi Psychology in order to try to answer the question whether or not Adolf Hitler, the personification of 20th century evil, was mentally ill or simply a man of the people. The answer, which emerges after a little more than 200 pages of heavy academic psycho-analysis, is long and complex and not that easy to interpret.

It's a fascinating book, even though it at times feels almost too heavy, with its super academic formulations and complicated use of the English language. Gonen shows how Hitler was a master of manipulations and interpreter of the desires of the people, skills that enable him to provide "new" ideas that were in actuality reflections of the great majority already believed in. The treaty in Versailles after World War I and the harsh conditions therein (combined with the fact that German politicians to the bitter end had continued lying to the people assuring them that victory was at hand), created a perfect breeding ground for Hitler and followers. Thus it's not entirely incorrect claiming that the "second" Thirty Years' War started when World War I started, not ending until the end of World War II.

One always causes controversy when saying that "sure, I admire Hitler", even though that has nothing to do with believing Nazi ideology to be a good and correct thing. In other words, of course it's possible to admire Hitler and his accomplishments while at the same time rejecting everything that the Nazis stand for. Because we can all agree upon the fact that he did something that few politicians are capable of; in no time at all turning a country in ruins into a superpower with millions and millions of fanatical inhabitants. His explanations as to why the Jews were the root of all evil made sense from the point of view that the people indeed believed him, and the multitude of ways the Nazi ideology permeated every aspect of German society is as fascinating as it is frightening.

If you want to learn more about how the Nazi era came into existence and how it became so large and influential, then Gonen's book is great tool. The war in itself isn't discussed very much, and he doesn't really bother discussing what's right and wrong, even though it's obvious that he's not a Nazi in any way. It's the ideology that's in focus here, along with how Hitler managed to create all those unlikely things that he nonetheless succeeded in. But it's also a useful book regarding the psychology of the majority of the people and large groups of people - how easy it is for a charismatic personality to persuade an unbelievably large number of people, despite the fact that for an outsider the whole thing remains utterly incomprehensible.

Rarely has the power of a strong leader (Hitler), combined with the power of the masses (the German Volk), had such devastating impact on the world. And with the continuous production of books such as The Roots of Nazi Psychology will mankind be armed with a very effective to for preventing something similar from ever happening again.